Today textile materials for clothing are required to possess a good handle, i.e. they must be soft and pleasant to touch. In addition, the rest shrinkage values must be low, and the surface of the woven articles must present a washed-out, slightly crumpled character. The textile materials should as far as possible also be free of softening and finishing agents.
These requirements were previously fulfilled by means of rotating tumblers or other apparatuses for treatment of separate lengths of textile material, where said textile material was treated mechanically and by means of passing hot drying air. Attempts have also been made at achieving the same effect by way of a continuous process, but without success. According to the most well-known solutions the fabric is spread out and carried through either a channel between two chambers or through a treatment zone in which the fabric is subjected to varying air flows while supported on a conveyor in form of an open network.
In this manner it is possible to achieve a slight ventilation, and a few of the solutions ensure also a good rest shrinkage value, but the resulting fabric remains flat and without the desired handle.
Attempts have also been made at imitating the tumbler system by means of an elongated cylindrical, almost horizontally arranged drum, where the fabric is loaded at one end and unloaded at the opposite end, said fabric being mechanically processed by allowing the drum to oscillate about its longitudinal axis while simultaneously being blown through by means of air.